


Mr. Heyes in the Salon with a Six-Gun

by Pony Girl (Jackjunkie)



Category: Alias Smith and Jones
Genre: Gen, Mystery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-21
Updated: 2012-10-21
Packaged: 2017-11-16 18:01:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/542264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jackjunkie/pseuds/Pony%20Girl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Kid looks for a clue to clear Heyes, who is accused of murder.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mr. Heyes in the Salon with a Six-Gun

**Author's Note:**

> Originally published in the zine Just You, Me and the Governor #7.

It was a dark and stormy night. Suddenly a shot rang out. A woman screamed. Kid Curry ran along the riverboat’s deck towards the sounds.

He threw open a door. A flash of lightning illuminated the scene within. His partner, Hannibal Heyes, stood over a man’s body. There was a small, bloody wound, as from a bullet, in the vicinity of the dead man’s heart. In his right hand Heyes held a smoking gun. A woman fainted into Curry’s arms.

Running feet pounded on the deck behind him. Two crew members carrying lanterns pushed past him into the room. One bent to examine the body as the other stepped next to Heyes and relieved him of his gun. Curry moved inside to lay his fair burden on a sofa. The riverboat’s captain followed him into the salon and stood awaiting his men’s report.

“He’s dead, sir,” pronounced the one kneeling on the floor. “And unarmed,” he added, with a meaningful look at Heyes.

“This gun’s been fired,” stated the other crewman. He grasped Heyes firmly by the arm. The touch seemed to break through Heyes’ stunned state.

“I didn’t do it,” he spoke up at last.

“I suppose the gun went off all by itself,” was the first crewman’s sarcastic comment.

“No, I mean it was someone else. Who fired it, that is. All I did was to pick it up. To check it, like he did. I didn’t shoot it.” Heyes’ silver tongue seemed to have deserted him.

“Are you claiming this ain’t your gun?” asked the man guarding him, with a skeptical look at his empty holster.

“No, I didn’t say that exactly. That is my gun,” Heyes reluctantly admitted.

“I think we’ve heard enough. Take him away, men,” the captain ordered without further ado.

“Hold on!” Curry jumped up to stop them. “Aren’t you even going to give him a chance to tell his story? What happened, Joshua?”

The captain signaled his men to wait. They looked expectantly at Heyes.

For once he didn’t embellish his tale, but stated the plain facts. “I walked in here and found the lady with Moss.” He indicated the body on the floor. “We talked. The storm intensified and the wind blew out the candles. The boat lurched and I lost my footing. I felt someone brush against me in the dark. I heard a shot and a scream, and someone ran out the inner door. When the lightning flashed, I saw Moss lying there, my gun beside him. I realized the killer must have taken it from my holster. I picked it up to examine it. The lightning flashed again and Thaddeus came in just in time to catch the lady as he fainted. Then you gentlemen arrived. That’s the whole story.”

A clap of thunder punctuated the end of his account.

The captain seemed unimpressed. “We’ll investigate every possibility, of course,” he said, “but I’m afraid we’ll have to take you into custody until we reach New Orleans in the morning. We’ll turn the matter over to the authorities there. It will be up to them to decide how to handle it.” The captain gestured to his men to escort Heyes out.

“Is that really necessary?” Curry objected. “Mr. Smith isn’t going anywhere in the middle of the river in a storm at night.”

“Mr. Smith was found standing over a dead body and holding the murder weapon.”

“He explained that.”

“Not to my satisfaction.” The captain was adamant. “I have the safety of my passengers and my crew to consider. His contention that an unseen person, under cover of darkness, appropriated his gun and used it to commit the murder is a trifle far-fetched.”

Heyes groaned inwardly. So much for the simple truth. From now on, he’d stick to embellishing.

The captain looked at Heyes. “It’s no secret that you and Mr. Moss had a very public argument earlier this evening in the casino. You accused him of cheating.”

“He was cheating. There were plenty of witnesses to back me up.”

“That’s not the issue. I have no choice but to lock you up. If you are innocent, then you have nothing to fear.”

Heyes had heard that one before.

“I am sure the law in New Orleans will uncover the truth.”

That’s what Heyes was afraid of. Uncovering the truth of his identity could put him away for twenty years. If they didn’t hang him for murder first, of course.

The captain continued. “Meanwhile, I’m simply going to hold you till we get to port. Not an unreasonable precaution under the circumstances. Men, I’ll wait here with the deceased while you get the prisoner squared away. Then I want you to come back to clear away the body.”

“Joshua, don’t worry. I’ll find Diamond Jim and we’ll get to the bottom of this,” Curry assured his friend as they led him away.

“Try and do it before morning, would you, Thaddeus?” asked Heyes with a lopsided grin. “I’d rather sample the New Orleans cuisine outside the jail.”

The crewmen ushered him out the door.

Just then the young lady began to moan and stir. Curry and the captain went to her side and solicitously helped her to sit up.

“Oh, my,” she breathed, raising a hand delicately to her forehead. “Oh, what happened?”

“You fainted, ma’am,” supplied the Kid.

“Why… oh! Oh, I remember. There was a gunshot. Oh, you must get help. A doctor… oh, no!” She caught sight of the body.

“I’m afraid Mr. Moss is beyond help,” said the captain gently. “I need to ask you some questions, if you feel up to it.”

“What? Oh. Oh, I don’t feel… but it’s my duty. Of course, Captain, go right ahead.”

“Did you see what happened, ma’am? Who shot Mr. Moss? Was it Mr. Smith?”

“Mr. Smith?” She looked around as if searching for the missing man. “Where is Mr. Smith?”

“My men have taken him into custody, ma’am. There’s nothing to fear. I assure you, you have my full protection. Did you see Mr. Smith shoot Mr. Moss?”

“Why, I… no. No, it was dark. I couldn’t see. There was a shot. That’s all I remember. I’m afraid I’m not being very helpful.” She seemed rather flustered.

“It’s perfectly understandable, ma’am. The shock and all,” said the Kid.

“The shock, yes. I can’t seem to take it in. I really think I need to lie down. May I return to my cabin, Captain?”

“Of course, ma’am. Please let me know if there’s anything you need or anything you recall once you feel recovered.”

“I will, Captain.”

“Allow me to walk you to your cabin, ma’am,” offered the Kid.

“That’s very kind. Thank you.”

They left the captain in the salon and walked belowdecks. The Kid could discover nothing more from her on the way, so he left her at her door and went off to find Diamond Jim Guffey.

*****

Heyes and Curry had been paying a visit to their old friend, Diamond Jim Guffey, when he had proposed a riverboat excursion. It had sounded like a fine idea at the time—plenty of high-stakes gambling, lovely ladies to dally with, good food and drink. It was not turning out exactly the way they’d pictured it.

Curry found Diamond Jim and explained the ill fortune that had befallen Heyes.

“We gotta find the real killer before morning,” he said. “If they turn Heyes over to the law, won’t be no time before they find out who he really is. We can say good-bye to our amnesty.”

“If we don’t find the killer, I think Heyes is going to have a little more to worry about than losing the amnesty,” Guffey said solemnly.

The Kid looked determined. “I’m not going to let them hang Heyes for something he didn’t even do,” he vowed. “We gotta stop this.”

“We will, Kid. We will. Now, it all comes down to motive and opportunity.”

“You wanna expand on that just a little?”

“We just have to find out who had a reason to want to see Moss dead, and who also has no alibi for the time of the murder and could have slipped into the salon, pulled Heyes’ gun, shot Moss, and fled undetected.”

“That all there is to it? And we have all night, too.”

So Curry and Guffey began to make judicious inquiries about all the people on board, both passengers and crew.

Moss had been a professional gambler and a regular passenger on the riverboats. As such, he was acquainted with many of the other regulars. Everyone seemed to have something to say about him, most of it uncomplimentary. It would have surprised Curry and Guffey to find anyone who hadn’t wanted to see him join the ranks of the not-so-dearly departed.

By the early hours of the morning, however, they had narrowed the suspects down to four people.

They arranged with the captain to gather them in the salon. The remains had been removed and there was no indication of the deadly scene which had been enacted earlier that evening.

Curry stood to one side to observe. He’d let Guffey do most of the talking.

As they surveyed the two gentlemen and two ladies who had taken their seats, the captain escorted Miss Vermilion, the lady who had fainted earlier, into the room. The gentlemen preened a bit at the sight of such a comely vision. One of the women sniffed and tucked her arm possessively into that of the gentleman next to her. The other woman gave a perceptible start and paled visibly.

“I demand to know the meaning of this,” she exclaimed in an outraged tone. “Why have we been dragged here against our will?”

“Now, Mrs. Periwinkle,” the captain placated. “As you’ve been told, we had an unfortunate incident here earlier this evening, and I’ve agreed to let Mr. Guffey and Mr. Jones ask a few questions. You all agreed to cooperate. I’m sure you’ll see that’s the wisest course, and the sooner we get everything out in the open, the sooner we can all put this behind us.”

“Thank you, Captain,” Diamond Jim took over smoothly. “The incident the captain refers to is…” He made eye contact with each of the suspects in turn, then proclaimed dramatically, “…murder. Tonight in this very room Mr. Moss met with foul play.” He paused to let the exclamations and wonderment run their course.

“The reason we asked you here,” he resumed, “is that each of you had a grudge against Mr. Moss and each of you is unaccounted for at the time of the murder. Professor Persimmon,” and he rounded on that gentleman suddenly, pointing an accusing finger, “do you deny that Mr. Moss was attempting to extort money from you with the threat of ruining your reputation and your position?”

“Why, that’s preposterous!” blustered the man so accused.

“Is it?” Guffey returned. “A university professor, charged with the education of our youth, must be above reproach. How would the university administrators feel if they discovered you were engaged in the reprehensible habit of gambling?”

“They would not like it at all, that’s true. But what would Moss have to gain by exposing me? A professor’s salary would not offer him enough compensation to make such threats profitable.” Persimmon puffed up with confidence.

“Yes, but you’re not gambling with only your salary, are you, Professor?”

Suddenly the professor seemed to deflate.

Guffey went on with his recitation. “Your crimes extend to corrupting the morals of your students, among whom are numbered the heirs of some of the wealthiest families in the south. These young people are entrusted to your care and your guidance, yet you introduce them to the vice of gambling. In the process you manage to appropriate quite a large percentage of their funds to yourself.”

“A fair return for my services, and there was nothing illegal about any of it,” the professor attempted to defend himself.

“The law might not disapprove, but the university certainly would,” Guffey retorted. “Neither did you limit yourself to gambling, but took advantage of your position in other ways, such as with the lovely Blanche here.”

Guffey indicated the young lady seated next to the professor.

“How would the Dean feel about you courting one of your students, Professor? And, Blanche, how would your family react if they found out about your new activities and your liaison with your professor? I’m sure Moss thought you both would pay a tidy sum to prevent word of this from getting out, and I’m sure you would have been most anxious to find a way to silence him.”

They both began protesting, but Guffey ignored them and moved on.

“Colonel Dijon,” he addressed the other gentleman they had called to the salon.

“Sir,” the colonel responded.

“Is it not true that you lost heavily to Mr. Moss at cards? That you have been losing to him steadily for some time and continued gambling in the hopes of winning it back? That you in fact finally lost everything you owned to him, including your family homestead? That not only did he wipe you out, but he did it by cheating, as you found out when Mr. Smith accused him tonight?”

“Yes, it’s all true. I lost everything to him: my money, my home. I’m ruined. But I still have my honor, sir. I may rejoice to see him dead, but I did not kill him. I would not resort to murder in any circumstances.”

“That remains to be seen,” Guffey responded. He regarded the fourth suspect.

“Mrs. Periwinkle,” he said to the lady who had been so outraged at the start. “The banker’s respectable wife. You, too, lost a great deal of money to Mr. Moss. What would your husband say if he found out about his wife’s gambling? Would you pay Mr. Moss for his promise of silence? Or would you seek another way to silence him permanently?”

“That’s absurd!” that lady declared. “I have no secrets from my husband. You are imagining this entire rigmarole! And what about that lady there?” She pointed to Miss Vermilion. “She was Mr. Moss’ companion. How do we know what cause she may have had to wish him dead?”

“Miss Vermilion is not a suspect,” the captain defended the lady by his side.

A general outcry began, with everyone affirming their innocence and demanding to be heard.

Under cover of the noise, Curry spoke to Diamond Jim.

“Keep them talking. I need to check on something with Heyes. I’ll be right back.”

Guffey nodded and Curry hurried from the salon.

*****

He found Heyes lying on a cot and gloomily contemplating the ceiling of the room they’d locked him in. “Got anything yet, Kid?” he asked without much hope.

“Actually, Heyes, I just may have,” answered the Kid.

Heyes sat up abruptly and looked at his partner. “Well, don’t keep me in suspense. What is it?”

Curry asked a question of his own. “Heyes, could you go over again exactly what happened when Moss got shot?”

Heyes suppressed his impatience. He trusted that the Kid had a good reason for asking. He went over the whole story one more time.

“When it happened, everyone was pretty much standing where we found them? Moss where he fell, you facing him, Miss Vermilion by the door?” reviewed the Kid.

“By the door? No. Miss Vermilion was standing next to Moss actually. When the shot was fired, she screamed and must have run towards the door to the deck where you came in. I heard the killer running out the other door.”

“Heyes, I think that’s the answer.”

“You know who did it? But how…” A thought struck him and he looked at Curry in sudden realization. “Kid, you don’t think…?”

“Yeah, Heyes, I do. Hang on, I gotta get back to Diamond Jim. We’ll have you outta here in no time.”

He practically ran all the way back to the salon. The clamor was still going on. He conferred a moment with Guffey, then addressed the gathering.

“Folks, I think we got an answer for you.”

An expectant hush fell immediately over the room. All eyes focused on Curry.

“I think what we got here is a killing by mistake.”

“Mistake? What do you mean? What are you saying?” A general uproar arose again.

“What I’m saying,” he waited for his listeners to quiet down again, “is that the wrong person got shot. I think the intended victim…” Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed. In the ensuing hush, the Kid finished his revelation, “…was Miss Vermilion.”

Two ladies gasped. Miss Vermilion was one. The Kid eyed the other and spoke to her directly.

“We missed it because Miss Vermilion was standing by that door when I came into the room. We all assumed she’d been there all along. I just found out she was standing right next to Mr. Moss when he got shot. In the darkness it was easy to miss the target and hit the wrong person. Moss was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Isn’t that so, Mrs. Periwinkle?”

That lady looked up at him aghast. “How can you accuse me of such a thing?”

“We almost had another fainting spell on our hands when you saw Miss Vermilion walk into the room. You were surprised to see her up and walking around when you had every reason to believe she was dead, isn’t that so, Mrs. Periwinkle?”

“No, it’s not so. I simply was surprised to see her here. I didn’t know she was on board.”

“So you admit you do know her?”

“I do. I know many people. I don’t make a habit of trying to kill them.”

“She did! You’re right, I know she did!” Miss Vermilion was on her feet, hysterically clutching her handkerchief to her heaving bosom.

“Why would Mrs. Periwinkle want to kill you, ma’am?” asked the Kid.

“She’s jealous, that’s why. Jealous of me and her husband.”

“How dare you?!” Mrs. Periwinkle also rose to her feet.

“Because it’s true, that’s how I dare! I was leaving Mr. Moss to be with Mr. Periwinkle. He told her he was leaving her for me. She didn’t want to let him go, but she couldn’t stop him. So she decided to kill me instead. It was the only way she could keep us apart!”

“You shameless hussy! You’re right, I wanted you dead. Do you think I would just willingly give up everything, my home, my husband, my position in society, because of some cheap little tramp? He would have gotten over you easily enough. More easily than you’ll get over this!”

She grabbed for the gun the colonel was wearing, pointed it at her rival, and pulled the trigger. The shot went wild and the Kid wrested the gun away from her before she could get off another. The lady dissolved into impassioned weeping.

“Madam, I’m placing you under arrest and holding you until I can hand you over to the proper authorities.” It seemed to be the captain’s favorite refrain. He led her from the room.

The Kid handed the gun back to the bemused colonel.

“I think everyone else is free to go,” he said.

“With Moss dead, this means I can keep my home,” Dijon said. “My fortune, my life is still intact.”

“You might want to use your second chance for something besides gambling,” advised the Kid. “They don’t come along very often. Second chances, that is. Believe me, I know.”

“You’re right. I’ll be much more careful,” said the colonel. “Thank you.”

“Speaking of second chances,” said Diamond Jim. “I’d advise you to find another mentor than your professor, my dear,” he addressed Blanche. “It really isn’t wise and you can do much better for yourself.”

“I’m sure you’re right, Mr. Guffey,” she gushed, taking his arm. “Perhaps you could give me the benefit of your advice.”

“I’d be happy to, my dear,” he said, “and please call me Jim. Oh and, Professor,” he added, “I’d take up another hobby if I were you. Or another occupation. I believe you’ll find this one no longer profitable.”

The professor took the hint and walked disconsolately away.

“Oh, I feel so faint,” said Miss Vermilion. She sank onto the sofa.

Colonel Dijon hovered over her. “You had a terrible fright, ma’am. It’s not such an easy thing to get over, almost losing your life.”

“It makes me reconsider my attachment to Mr. Periwinkle. I’ve been led astray by my heart, but I see now it’s wrong and I should give him up.”

“Your heart is so tender, I’m sure it’s easily led astray. Why don’t I escort you to your cabin so you can rest. In the morning, you’ll be able to see more clearly what your course should be.”

“Oh, I’m sure you’re right, Colonel. We were both led astray. I’m so glad you’ve recovered your estate. How large an estate is it exactly?” Her voice trailed off as they left together.

The Kid went off to spring Heyes.

“You got time for another hand of poker before we dock at New Orleans,” he said cheerfully as he entered his room.

“Kid! You done it? You caught the killer?”

“Yeah, Heyes, and you’d never believe it. It was a lady, a jealous wife.”

“Why don’t you tell me all about it over a drink?”

“Suits me. You know how I’m always sayin’ you can learn more about people by watchin’ ‘em than by all the words in the world? Well, that’s what happened here. It was the look on her face that gave me my clue…”

THE END


End file.
